Misunderstandings
by ZieraZ117
Summary: Arthur had never been that good at communicating his feelings- and a misunderstanding between him and Gwen could put them all, Merlin included, in a very awkward situation. Merther, Arwen


_A/n Hey! I hope some people in this fandom are still alive in here! I just had this passing idea, and I thought I'd share it. :P I hope you enjoy_!

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Arthur wouldn't describe himself as the best communicator of feelings. Deep, meaningful feelings, anyway. He wouldn't say he was an awful communicator- either- but then again, admitting his faults had similarly never been a strong suit for the prince.

It just seemed that whenever Arthur wished to convey his feelings to someone he cared about, the right words seemed to elude him. Maybe it was because of his father- as Uther had never been the best communicator either. Maybe it was because he had never known his mother. It could have been caused for a multitude of reasons.

Anyway- point was, that Arthur did not possess the skill of easily explaining the way he felt about someone...to that particular person. Merlin had always called his communication deficiency one of his 'many faults'. Followed by a long list of additional things that he believed to be flaws in him that, by the way, Arthur completely disagreed with. Well, to be fair...there were some accurate accusations- but that was beside the point.

When Arthur was caught in one of those situations with Merlin, which by the way seemed to be happening a lot more often lately as their friendship developed- and he couldn't _quite _get the words out, (usually after a life-and-death situation that they'd somehow survived), Merlin would always tease Arthur about his inability to just 'say it.' That would more often than not be proceeded by him going on about how he knew that Arthur 'cared' underneath it all. And, almost as an old routine that they never strayed from, Arthur would shake the comment off- call him a name and they would get on with their lives.

And it worked. Because, even though maybe Arthur wished he could just "_say it"_, Merlin knew what he wasn't saying. Perhaps it was because Merlin knew him- and it wasn't something that needed saying. Well, alright, maybe it did need saying...but what Arthur meant was that Merlin understood. And they could continue to base their relationship off all those 'unsaid' things that, admittedly, Arthur knew he might need to say someday, but that day hadn't come yet. And if Arthur knew anything about himself, he knew that he'd probably keep pushing the due date on those things back as much as he could.

But in this particular rare occurrence, Arthur actually wanted to 'say it.' Because over time, Arthur had begun to develop...affectionate feelings toward Morgana's maid, the lovely Gwenivere. And he had concealed them stubbornly for...for well, as long as he could possibly do so without completely exploding. In some cases, such as this one, being unable to explain how you felt about someone could be extremely unfortunate.

But Arthur wished to change all that today. Because this day, he was going to tell Gwen how he really felt. It had been too long- and he needed to know if she felt the same. So of course, the smart thing to do would be to just knock on her door and tell her. But the _smarter _thing to do, at least in Arthur's opinion, would be to go and knock on Merlin's door. For many reasons did he chose Merlin to be his confidant.

The first being- he already knew of Arthur's feelings for Gwen. Of course he did. They had close to no secrets between each other- and that was one of the things about their friendship that both annoyed and was endearing to Arthur. The second being that Merlin was a slightly better 'feelings communicator' than he himself was. And in his defense- not by And the third being that Merlin was again, his closest friend that Arthur truly felt he could go to for help whenever he needed it.

And surprise surprise, he hadn't told Merlin that either. But Merlin just seemed to know. Arthur liked to think that Merlin would feel safe to come to him with anything he needed, as well.

Just as long as it wasn't a day off.

"Merlin, are you in here?" Arthur called through the wooden door that lead to Gaius and Merlin's living quarters. He'd rather not go inside, because for some reason it smelled of boiled toads in there. Before he wondered what Gaius would actually be doing to create such a foul odor, Arthur reminded himself that he probably didn't want to know.

Impatience flared in Arthur when there wasn't an answer. He was afraid that the burst of courage he possessed at the moment would fade away if he didn't take advantage of it as soon as possible. Perhaps Merlin was actually doing his job...for once. Or perhaps he was in the tavern. According to Gaius, he'd been spending a lot more time there lately. Arthur waited a second longer before giving up. If Merlin were inside, he would have shown himself by now.

"Where is that simple-headed, lazy..." Arthur began, words coaxed from his impatient anxiousness- but the sentence died on his tongue as Merlin rounded the corner right in front of him- carrying a large woven basket, filled to the brim with various types of herbs. No doubt the plants would be used for creating medicines and remedies. "...wonderful, brilliant servant of mine?" Arthur finished, realizing that if he was coming to ask for Merlin's help, he couldn't call him a simple-headed lazy oaf to his face and then expect him to give it willingly.

Merlin raised an eyebrow at the compliments, his expression showing a mix of confusion yet additionally displaying perceptiveness.

"And what can your simple-headed lazy oaf do for you, sire?" Merlin asked lightly, pushing past him and setting the herbs down by the large, oaken door. Arthur shook his head in denial.

"You can't prove I was going to say that." Arthur pointed out firmly, attempting to defend himself. "But how on earth did you know?" Merlin laughed slightly, dusting off himself and stretching his back.

"You've been favoring that one, recently." Merlin explained, and by that one he meant that particular insult. Arthur thought it over- and by the end, he shrugged.

"That's...fair."

"What do you need?" Merlin repeated, smiling while Arthur accumulated a grin of his own.

"I'm going to tell her. Today. And I need your help." Arthur explained eagerly, and Merlin looked at him like he'd just grown another head.

"What? Gw-" Arthur clamped down a hand on Merlin's mouth, shushing him.

"Well, clearly we can't talk here." He lamented, looking around and trying to think of a safer place. Merlin's hand pulled off Arthur's from his face, and he continued to look at him with that odd expression.

"You want to tell her how you _feel?" _Merlin asked, looking completely shocked. And then his eyes narrowed. "You sure you aren't under any magical influence." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Merlin. I can communicate when I wish to...communicate." He assured him, crossing his arms. Merlin nodded slowly along his words.

"So...what do you need to talk to me for? Can't you just...go and talk to her?" He half-suggested, eyes widening in a condescending way as to show Arthur what he should do. Arthur shook his head.

"No but wait. You are good with..feelings and being emotional. How should I tell her?" He asked, his voice dropping to a whisper and his eyes insistent. Merlin's face contorted into that of an offended one.

"Did you just indirectly call me a girl?" Merlin accused.

"Merlin!" Arthur almost shouted, impatience getting the better of his attitude. "...yes." Merlin laughed, cutting out on his act and beginning to be serious- to Arthur's relief.

"Well...you could...pick her flowers and show up at her door." He suggested, but Arthur brushed the suggestion off.

"I'd rather not, flowers aren't really...my forte." They both returned to thinking.

What would be the best way to tell Gwen how he really felt? Suddenly, Merlin's eyes lit up.

"I've got it! Write a letter!" He exclaimed, and Arthur nodded. A letter. Yes! A letter would do nicely. Then he could avoid the actual 'communication' without avoiding the actual communication! Somehow it made sense in his mind. Arthur grasped Merlin on the shoulder as a friendly gesture, actually feeling gratefulness. He could tell Merlin that he felt grateful, if he really wanted to practice being a better feelings-communicator.

"Not your _best_ idea, Merlin, but it's going to have to do." Arthur told him, smiling with eagerness. Merlin rolled his eyes at that.

"You could just say thank you!" He called after Arthur- who had already left to go write the letter.

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"So- how did it go? I haven't seen you since yesterday." Merlin asked as he opened the door to Arthur's room, a bundle of clean pressed clothes in his arms. Arthur was sitting at his desk, a perplexed look upon his features.

"She got the letter." Arthur began slowly, not turning to look at Merlin as he walked by to put the clothes away. "I asked her to meet me at sundown." Merlin seemed to slow in his duties- turning to get a better look at the prince.

"Last night? Did she-"

"Yeah, she met me." Arthur confirmed, but the confusion was evident in his tone. Merlin looked confused himself. He quickly finished putting away the clothes in the appropriate places before returning to Arthur's side.

"So why aren't you happier?" Merlin asked carefully, leaning his hands on the edge of the table. Usually, Arthur would have told him to back off and hurled some insult. But he was in such a place of bewilderment, that he didn't say a word about Merlin touching his desk. He wasn't sure how to figure this one out. Perhaps...it would be in his best interests to tell Merlin.

"She acted very...strangely." Arthur commented, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyebrows furrowed. "She said she was happy for me." Merlin's head tilted to the side. Now they were both lost in a place of bewilderment.

"I don't understand." Merlin admitted, and Arthur shrugged.

"Well It's not my fault. I wrote the letter perfectly. It was very romantic." He continued, gaining vigor as he did so. "So before you say you think there was something wrong with my communication, let me just tell you there wasn't." He warned Merlin, pointing at him with narrowed eyes. Merlin sighed, trying to suppress a smile.

"Arthur?"

"What!" Arthur snapped back, rubbing the back of his blonde head with his left hand grouchily. Merlin bit his lip.

"I think there was something wrong with your communication."

Arthur sighed heavily.

"She gave the letter back to me, if you want to read it." He suggested wearily, pulling out a brown piece of parchment. Merlin took it from his hands, looking him over. How much sleep did he get that night? With dark circles under his eyes, his just short of delusional behavior...

"**_Dearest Gwenivere, I have come to care a great deal for you_**_." _Merlin began. _So far, so good__, _he thought_. "_**_so I thought I would pose a simple question. Merlin and myself think that it is a good idea for us to take our relationship to a new level. Do you feel that this is a good idea? It may be frowned upon by many- but I cannot ignore what's in my heart. If you do, please meet me under the gate at sundown._ -Arthur.**"

Merlin put down the letter delicately on the table, staring at it as if it were going to transform into a beast at any point in time in the near future. The very...very near future.

"See? Perfectly..fine." Arthur assured him, gesturing to the letter and back again to Merlin.

"What did Gwen say when she saw you?" Merlin questioned softly. He hoped that he was wrong- he hoped that he was wrong...but...really, when was he ever?

"She said she felt it was...a good idea. She said that she's very happy for me." Arthur explained once again, and Merlin rested his face in his palm. "Whatever that means..." he added hopelessly.

"Arthur, don't you get it?" Merlin snapped, rolling his eyes. For being the prince of Camelot, the once and future king... the man destined to bring the new Albion, Arthur could be a bit thick-headed. He picked up the letter again and pressed it into Arthur's palm.

"Read it again." Merlin ordered, and Arthur was so stunned by his authoritative tone that he did. Merlin watched as his eyes animated in a look of surprise as he read- and Merlin sighed again.

"Oh." Arthur muttered, reading more. "She thinks that I...that we... _oh._" When he had finished, Arthur turned to Merlin with a grimace.

A silence set in between them. About five minutes later, Merlin had the courage to break it.

"Look at that, we're in love." He commented. It was quite ridiculous. Now it was Arthur's turn to face-palm. "You're going to have to ask Gaius' permission to marry me." He added, finally bursting out with a laugh that was long overdue. Arthur couldn't help but let his own laughter slip out as well.

"Only if you ask Uther's." He shot back. Merlin made a grimace of his own. He shook his head as the laughter died down.

"So much for your _great_ communication." Merlin risked saying. He was rewarded with the letter being thrown in his face. Which...quite frankly...didn't hurt very much. He was pleasantly surprised.

"Look, don't worry." Merlin started, turning back toward Arthur. "Listen, it's all easily fixed. You just need to do is tell her the truth." He offered, and Arthur looked at him with reluctance. Merlin knew it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"I suppose you're right...I'll...try that." Arthur conceded.

What a mess they'd gotten themselves into.

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_A/n Just a small thing. I hope you enjoyed it. Please rate and review!_

Chapter 2...?


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